NOVPUB"What’s that sound?"
"Is someone playing basketball inside?"
"Maybe it’s a ghost?"
After the brief jests, the mood quickly turned somber among the group.
The echoing thuds from deep within the corridor grew louder.
Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t have been fearful, especially with Joey being a level 3 Evolver.
But within the confines of this enigmatic pyramid, no one could predict the terror or dangers that lay in wait.
In such a place, one had to be on full alert. Forget about a level 3 Evolver, even a level 4 could meet a tragic end here.
While the others hesitated, Daniel had already started advancing towards the depths of the corridor.
Even if death awaited him ahead, where others might falter or cower, Daniel wouldn’t.
He was determined to gather as much information as possible before the end, ensuring that, if he had to die, it wouldn’t be in vain.
Seeing Daniel make his move, Susanna hesitated briefly before hurrying after him.
She was well aware that Daniel was an Evolver with the ability to foresee the future. Sticking close to him was her best bet for safety.
Joey was more than happy to have someone lead the way.
Once Aesop and Akid had passed him, he slowly followed, his eyes shimmering with unspoken thoughts.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Upon reaching the depths of the corridor, Daniel finally discerned the source of the sound.
At the darkest recess, an irregularly shaped spherical object was bouncing up and down, as though it was being struck by an unseen force.
As everyone followed in Daniel’s footsteps and got a closer look, they collectively gasped in shock.
The irregular object was unmistakably a human skull.
"You’ve got to be kidding! It’s just a skull," Akid remarked, his tension visibly melting away.
Although the sight was eerie, it wasn’t insurmountable.
With newfound confidence, he approached the skull, channeling all his strength into his leg and gave it a firm kick.
Susanna, sensing something amiss, cried out in desperation, "Akid, get back! It’s dangerous!"
But it was too late. Her warning couldn’t prevent Akid’s actions.
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, the skull that Akid had kicked burst apart.
Blazing flames erupted, and the sound reverberated throughout the corridor.
Aesop’s eyes immediately welled up with tears, "Akid!"
He rushed forward without hesitation.
The explosion had thrown Akid several meters away.
As Aesop dashed to him and assessed his injuries, a heart-wrenching scream broke from his lips.
"Akid!"
"Akid!"
"Damn it! Damn it all!"
"Why did this happen?!"
Daniel approached and saw Akid cradled in Aesop’s arms, his entire body charred black. Even the wounds from the explosion seeped with dark, tainted blood.
Joey, with caution evident in his eyes, constantly scanned their surroundings, fearing another skull might appear.
Suddenly, Daniel heard a sound from a distance, as if something was rolling towards them.
The beam of the flashlight followed the noise, and what it revealed took everyone aback.
Under the light, a series of skulls were rolling in their direction.
The skulls looked ancient, each one marred with evident cracks.
"Oh my god, oh my god!"
"What in the world? Where did all these skulls come from?!"
"Why are you still standing there? Move back now!"
Joey was the first to snap to action, turning on his heels and running.
Aesop, heartbreak momentarily forgotten, hastily retreated.
Seeing Susanna rooted beside Daniel, Joey reached back, grabbing her arm in urgency. "Run! Why are you still here?"
Susanna’s grip tightened on Daniel’s arm.
She could feel the palpable sense of danger.
Yet, if Daniel, with his foresight, hadn’t retreated, it meant they didn’t need to.
The skulls surged forth like a tidal wave.
It seemed they would soon engulf them all.
With a swift motion, Daniel’s hands moved through the air, seemingly grasping at nothing.
Almost imperceptibly, silk threads emerged from each of his ten fingers.
Like a spider spinning its web, they intertwined in front of him, forming a dense, nearly white net.
The delicate-looking silk threads, when combined, remarkably withstood the powerful onslaught of the oncoming skull tide.
Having done all this, Daniel silently withdrew his hands, "Step back."
With that, he too retreated a few steps.
The others were rendered speechless: "..."
Susanna, however, remained unfazed.
Although she didn’t understand how Daniel had done it, she held a boundless imagination about his abilities.
No matter how astonishing his feats, she could digest them.
Joey and Aesop were utterly baffled.
Wasn’t his power supposed to be Information Detection?
What’s with these white threads?
Before they could wrap their heads around it, the countless skulls reminded them of the devastating power of just one exploding earlier, which had taken the life of a level 2 Evolver.
Should these skulls explode all at once, the force might rival that of a nuclear blast.
With that thought, Joey’s retreat hastened even more.
But they didn’t leave the pyramid entirely.
Having spent over a year locating this pyramid, they couldn’t just abandon it.
They retreated several dozen meters before stopping.
Relying on the illumination, their eyes were fixed on Daniel, who hadn’t yet fully retreated.
With a pistol gripped firmly in his hand, Daniel didn’t bother checking if the others had retreated to a safe distance. He raised his arm and fired.
Boom!
Rumbling, deafening explosions followed, akin to firecrackers magnified hundreds of times.
The blasts echoed through the corridor, making their ears ring in pain.
The entire passageway shook violently, reminiscent of a fierce earthquake.
From a distance, the hearts of Joey and the others leaped into their throats.
He actually detonated them?!
They had initially thought that Daniel’s command to retreat was merely to find an alternate route.
It had never occurred to them that he would directly trigger the skulls’ explosion.
Such audacity!
Was he not afraid of perishing in the blast himself?
Indeed, Daniel was fearless; at worst, he would just start over.
Standing behind the barricade formed by the silk threads, he continually released new threads to patch up any gaps.
Ten minutes.
The skulls erupted in flames for a full ten minutes.
The entire corridor was saturated with a pungent smell of gunpowder, and the surrounding stone walls bore charred marks from the blasts.
He actually withstood it!
Joey and the others were astounded, staring in disbelief at the man before them.
Who on earth was he?
Joey wondered, if he himself had been in that position, he’d probably be nothing but ashes by now.
Yet Daniel stood unscathed, pristine, still looking as polished and impeccable as ever.
This was beyond impressive.
Could it be...
A sudden realization hit Joey.
Could it be... that Daniel wasn’t just a level 3 Evolver, but a level 4?!
The very thought took Joey aback.
Susanna moved to stand quietly behind Daniel once more.
After what had just transpired, her faith in him was unshakable.
She firmly believed that with Daniel by her side, her life would never be in peril.
Aesop, on the other hand, was on the ground, frantically sweeping away the thick layer of ash left behind by the explosion, desperately searching for any remains of Akid.
But after such an intense blast, what hope was there of finding a body?
It had likely been reduced to ashes, mingled indistinguishably with the remnants of the skulls.
Having done all that he intended to, Daniel silently retracted his silk thread and began walking onward without a word: "Let’s keep moving."
Susanna quickly followed suit.
Joey helped Aesop to his feet and they moved swiftly forward, the astonishment caused by Daniel’s actions still evident in their eyes.
The group continued their journey through the dark corridor.
In a typical pyramid, there would be burial chambers at regular intervals within the passageways.
But this pyramid was peculiar; they had walked an indeterminable distance and had ascended two levels, yet they hadn’t encountered a single chamber.
Daniel sensed an anomaly.
Ahead, another ascending corridor loomed.
Just as Daniel was preparing to move upward, suddenly...
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Muffled sounds echoed from above.
Joey’s face paled, "What was that noise?!"
Aesop, teeth clenched, cautiously scanned their surroundings, "Is it those skulls again?"
Daniel shook his head, "The skulls don’t make such a dull sound."
"What could it be then?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth, than they were met with the cascading sounds of water.
"Is that... the sound of flowing water?"
"How can there be the sound of water inside a pyramid?"
Without much thought, Joey blurted out, "Could it be raining outside and the rainwater is seeping in?"
"Idiot."
That was the word Daniel silently mouthed, holding back his exasperation.
There certainly wouldn’t be rainwater inside a pyramid.
The sound of flowing grew nearer and nearer, and everyone swiftly shifted the beams of their flashlights to pinpoint its origin.
At last, the unsettling source was laid bare before them: it wasn’t water, but blood!
The scarlet deluge poured from the corridor above, reminiscent of a dam bursting forth.
The current was so swift that before the group could even contemplate retreating, they found themselves submerged in the river of blood.
Daniel looked down at the vivid red liquid coursing beneath his feet, its thick consistency reminiscent of diluted tomato sauce, emitting a sharp, metallic scent.
And with the appearance of this blood river, the rhythmic thuds – thump, thump, thump – felt ominously close.
Every gaze was instinctively drawn upwards to the corridor’s top, and what they beheld sent shivers down their spines.
There, floating above were several human heads — yes, bloody, fleshy heads with hair!
This chilling sight accounted for the earlier, hauntingly muffled thuds.
